Wire Report

A Batesville man was among 32 doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals charged with week with crimes related to drugs and over-prescribing, putting the  Volunteer State at the epicenter of a nationwide takedown designed to combat the opioid crisis in criminal court.

The probe led to charges against three nurse practitioners from Pain MD, a vast pain management chain headquartered in Brentwood, that allegedly required paties to receive unnecessary injections so they could defraud government insurance programs.

Daniel Seeley, 58, of Batesville was one of those three suspects.

Prominent Tennessee cases include charges against Dr. Darrell Rinehart, a Columbia-area doctor who relocated to Indiana after at least four patients died while taking his prescriptions. Prosecutors have alleged that Jeffrey Young, a Jackson nurse practitioner, traded sexual favors for “dangerous combinations” of opioids and other drugs.”

“The indictments announced today are the culmination of many months of meticulous investigation and another example of our commitment to hold those accountable who perpetrate the opioid crisis is our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Don Cochran in a news release announcing the indictments.

The Justice Department’s announcement included the arrest of 15 individuals, including eight doctors and several other medical professionals in the Western District of Tennessee.

– Brett Kelman/Tennessean